A thousand pounds, or $1,500, is not an insignificant amount to spend on a bicycle. It shows you’re serious about your cycling, whether you’re putting in more hours on the road, spending weekends exploring gravel routes or commuting to work regularly regardless of the season.
Buying a bike with a four digit (or high three-digit) price tag is another step on your cycling journey. It could be that you’re already well invested in road or gravel cycling and are looking for a new bike for a new discipline. You might be an ardent commuter wanting something for the weekend. However, it’s probably likely that this is an upgrade from your existing bike, a reflection of your deepening commitment to a life on two-wheels.
So what represents value at this competitive price point, and which of the three bikes – road, gravel or commuter – is likely to offer you the best deal?
The first question is the same whether you’re spending £500 or £10,000. What do I want the bike for?
Perhaps you’ve recently joined a cycling club and are on the hunt for an upgrade to your road bike that will help you out on the high-paced group rides as well as allowing you to dip your toes into racing. Maybe you’ve been increasing your miles on the road as you build up to your first 100-mile ride and want a bike better suited to long days in the saddle? Either way you’ll be after a ‘traditional’ road bike.
Likewise, if you’re expressly looking for something for bikepacking trips and gravel events, such as Grinduro or Gritfest, or a dedicated vehicle for your weekly commute, then the choice, at least in terms of the type of bicycle, will be pretty clear.
But as we’ve alluded to, if you’re about to shell out £1000 on a new bike it’s a safe bet that cycling is now playing a more significant role in your life. The result of this can be a sharpened focus on one discipline alone. But often the more you cycle, the less one-dimensional it becomes.
Weekend rides lead to commuting a couple of times a week, or vice versa. The lure of tranquility, or at least less traffic, is a common starting point for many roadies foray into gravel. Regardless of the specifics, a bike that can serve two, or even three, purposes makes sense. It’s likely to offer better value too.
With all this mind, we’ll explore what you should expect for a road bike, a gravel bike and a commuter at the £1,000 price point. We’ll look at where you can find value, sacrifices that are worth making to save…